Professional Graduate Diploma in Education (Secondary) PGDE

The Professional Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) Secondary is for graduates who want to become subject-specialist teachers in the secondary sector. This programme is the Scottish route to qualified teacher status.

This is an intensive programme of study, divided equally between University-based and school-based activities.

We designed the programme to prepare you for the range of roles that teachers are expected to play:

• A competent, reflective classroom practitioner
• A collaborator who contributes to the wider informal curriculum of the school
• A subject specialist and a curriculum developer
• A teacher in society, whether building strong relationships with parents or contributing to national policy debates

You will develop the capacity to become a transformative teacher, making a positive impact on the outcomes of learners, with the capacity to become a future leader in the profession. To this end, we focus on teaching student teachers to use their powerful subject knowledge to create interesting, relevant and progressive teaching.

We currently offer our secondary programme in the following subjects:

• Art and Design
• Biology
• Chemistry
• Design and Technology
• Drama
• English
• Geography
• History
• Mathematics
• Language Education (Chinese, French, German)
• Music
• Physical Education
• Physics

Dual Qualification status

Dual qualification means that a teacher is qualified to teach two different subject areas within schools, such as Mathematics and Physics.

We welcome applications for dual subject qualification and can accommodate the following combinations:

• Geography and History
• Mathematics and Physics
• any two science subjects, for example, Physics and Chemistry.
• and Language Education:
  • Any two from French, German and Chinese
  • French and Spanish
  • German and Spanish
  • Chinese and Spanish
  • French and Italian
  • German and Italian

NB: Spanish and Italian can only be taken as second subjects. Chinese with Italian is not possible.

Applying for dual qualification status

In your UCAS application, simply make your application for the first subject and state your second subject in your personal statement. At the same time as submitting your UCAS application please inform Admissions of your stated preference via futurestudents@ed.ac.uk.

You must have an additional 80 credits in the second subject area and meet the GTCS requirements for teaching this subject.

Mental health and wellbeing partnership

All initial teacher education programmes include access to our mental health and wellbeing programme.

This is provided through our unique partnership with children’s mental health charity Place2Be and helps you to support mental wellbeing in your classrooms and in yourself.

Place2Be at Moray House

These entry requirements are for the 2025/26 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ. Entry requirements for the 2026/27 academic year will be published on 1 July 2025.

A UK undergraduate degree, or its international equivalent. You should hold at least 80 UK credits, at least 40 of which should be at SCQF level 8 or above, in the subject you wish to teach. These credits can either be as part of your undergraduate degree, or completed through additional university study. Please contact the admissions office for further advice.

You should also hold the following:

• SQA Higher English at grade C or GCSE English Language AND GCSE English Literature, both at grade C/4
• SQA National 5 Mathematics or Applications of Mathematics (formerly Lifeskills Maths) at grade C or GCSE Mathematics at grade C/4

Please contact the admissions office for advice on equivalent qualifications.

• futurestudents@ed.ac.uk

We also expect you to have experience of working with children in formal or informal settings (both employment and volunteering roles will be considered) and an ability to reflect thoughtfully on that experience. You should have some knowledge and understanding of the Scottish curriculum. Selection involves a professional interview.

For subject-specific entry requirements, visit the School website 'How to apply' page:

• Subject-specific entry requirements and how to apply

Students from China

This degree is Band C.

• Postgraduate entry requirements for students from China

Protecting Vulnerable Groups

All successful applicants will be required to join Disclosure Scotland's Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme before starting the programme. In addition, all applicants who don't live in the UK, or who have spent more than a year abroad, will need to provide equivalent verification from the relevant national authority.

International qualifications

Check whether your international qualifications meet our general entry requirements:

• Entry requirements by country

English language requirements

Regardless of your nationality or country of residence, you must demonstrate a level of English language competency which will enable you to succeed in your studies.

English language tests

We accept the following English language qualifications at the grades specified:

• IELTS Academic: total 6.5 with at least 6.0 in each component. We do not accept IELTS One Skill Retake to meet our English language requirements.
• TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition): total 92 with at least 20 in each component. We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
• C1 Advanced (CAE) / C2 Proficiency (CPE): total 176 with at least 169 in each component.
• Trinity ISE: ISE II with distinctions in all four components.
• PTE Academic: total 65 with at least 59 in each component. We do not accept PTE Academic Online.
• Oxford ELLT: 7 overall with at least 6 in each component.

Unless you are a national of a majority English speaking country, your English language qualification must be no more than three and a half years old from the start of the month in which the programme you are applying to study begins. If you are using an IELTS, PTE Academic, TOEFL, Trinity ISE, or Oxford ELLT test, it must be no more than two years old on the first of the month in which the programme begins, regardless of your nationality. (Revised 14 January 2025 to include Oxford ELLT.)

Degrees taught and assessed in English

We also accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree that has been taught and assessed in English in a majority English speaking country, as defined by UK Visas and Immigration:

• UKVI list of majority English speaking countries

We also accept a degree that has been taught and assessed in English from a university on our list of approved universities in non-majority English speaking countries (non-MESC).

• Approved universities in non-MESC

If you are not a national of a majority English speaking country, then your degree must be no more than five years old at the beginning of your programme of study.

Find out more about our language requirements:

• English language requirements

Graduates from this programme are qualified to teach, and eligible for provisional registration from the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS).

On successful completion of this programme, students are recommended to contact the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) for provisional registration. Full registration is awarded on the completion of one satisfactory year of teaching the subject(s) for which qualification has been gained through this programme.

Eligibility for Teacher Induction Scheme

Students from Scotland and other parts of the UK (RUK), who are studying at a Scottish Higher Education Institution are eligible to join the Teacher Induction Scheme (TIS), a guaranteed and paid one-year probationary teaching post, organised by the General Teaching Council for Scotland, or take up a Flexible Route.

GTCS Teacher Induction Scheme eligibility and details

Preference Waiver Payment Scheme

If you join the General Teaching Council’s Preference Waiver Payment Scheme - which means you agree to work in any Scottish local authority for your induction post - in return, you will receive an £8,000 payment made if you complete your Teacher Induction Scheme year in the local authority to which you were allocated.